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The Wisconsin magazine of history: Volume 23, number 1, September 1939

the history of potosi eld a o batjmann e lead mines which once gave grant county fame were 1 known but probably not seen by an englishman be fore 1815 when a captain john shaw who had established a trading business in prairie du chien stopped near the present village of cassville to buy a cargo of lead from the indians by passing as a frenchman shaw was allowed by the indians who jealously guarded the mines from the americans to ascend the grant river far enough to see the deposits probably around potosi mining as he reports it was very simple the ore cropping out in surface veins on the hillsides was merely pried out with deer horns or sharp ened sticks.1 but once the existence of the deposits was more widely realized and their location known the animosity of the indians and the danger of sauk foxes or winnebago that existed until after the black hawk war were not sufficient to keep the venturesome englishmen and yankees away miners were busy in southwest wisconsin as early as 1819.2 after the first steamboat made the trip from st louis to prairie du chien in 1823 there was an influx of sucker miners who came just for the summer months and returned south for the winter with the discovery of adney lead by major adney in 1826 and the discovery of lead around platteville in 1827 most of the important fields of the region had been prospected.3 before the summer of 1827 was over there were english settlements at wingville 1castello n holford history of grant county wisconsin lancaster wisconsin 1900 9-11 references to holford will hereafter be indicated by an asterisk in the text 2 joseph schafer four wisconsin counties madison 1927 46 3 ibid 46

This issue includes articles on the history of the Milwaukee Catholic diocese, Wisconsin Republicans and Reconstruction, early Wisconsin schoolteachers, and the diary of River Falls resident Abner Morse.

The History of Potosi: This article summarizes the origins of Potosi, which developed after Captain John Shaw (dates unverified) discovered lead mines in the area in 1815. Originally called Snake Hollow, Potosi was one of the first towns in Grant County to be incorporated and was the largest settlement in the western part of Wisconsin during the mid-1800s, due to an influx of English miners and German immigrants. The article describes specific characteristics of the settlement, such as the growing religious element, eruption of local businesses, and river transport of merchandise and ore. It also discusses how Potosi transitioned from a commercial, Yankee-British mining town to an agricultural settlement comprised of a largely German population. (14 pages)

the history of potosi eld a o batjmann e lead mines which once gave grant county fame were 1 known but probably not seen by an englishman be fore 1815 when a captain john shaw who had established a trading business in prairie du chien stopped near the present village of cassville to buy a cargo of lead from the indians by passing as a frenchman shaw was allowed by the indians who jealously guarded the mines from the americans to ascend the grant river far enough to see the deposits probably around potosi mining as he reports it was very simple the ore cropping out in surface veins on the hillsides was merely pried out with deer horns or sharp ened sticks.1 but once the existence of the deposits was more widely realized and their location known the animosity of the indians and the danger of sauk foxes or winnebago that existed until after the black hawk war were not sufficient to keep the venturesome englishmen and yankees away miners were busy in southwest wisconsin as early as 1819.2 after the first steamboat made the trip from st louis to prairie du chien in 1823 there was an influx of sucker miners who came just for the summer months and returned south for the winter with the discovery of adney lead by major adney in 1826 and the discovery of lead around platteville in 1827 most of the important fields of the region had been prospected.3 before the summer of 1827 was over there were english settlements at wingville 1castello n holford history of grant county wisconsin lancaster wisconsin 1900 9-11 references to holford will hereafter be indicated by an asterisk in the text 2 joseph schafer four wisconsin counties madison 1927 46 3 ibid 46